Acrylic Acid Price Trend and Forecast 2026-2027

Key Takeaways

• Acrylic acid prices fell across most regions through 2025. The global average across five tracked markets declined steadily from USD 1.26/KG in Q1 to USD 1.13/KG by Q4, driven by weakening propylene feedstock costs, Chinese capacity expansion, and softer downstream demand from coatings, adhesives, and superabsorbent polymer producers through the second half of the year.
• North America entered 2025 as the most expensive market at USD 1.79/KG in Q1, shedding nearly 19% of that value by Q4. Easing propylene costs from shale-based PDH units and a slowdown in domestic coatings and construction demand drove the correction through Q2, Q3, and Q4.
• Europe was the only region to record a price increase in Q2, climbing to USD 1.35/KG before pulling back through Q3 and Q4. Elevated naphtha-derived propylene costs, EU ETS carbon pricing, and REACH compliance kept European acrylic acid prices structurally above the global average throughout the year.
• North East Asia and South East Asia declined steadily across all four quarters. North East Asia fell from USD 1.02/KG in Q1 to USD 0.87/KG by Q4, with expanding Chinese acrylic acid and glacial acrylic acid capacity putting persistent pressure on regional spot prices throughout the year.
• South America held flat through Q1 and Q2 before a sharp 9.8% drop in Q3, then stabilised in Q4. Construction sector softness in Brazil and import cost pressures were the key drivers, with year-end procurement activity providing modest price support to close the year at USD 1.12/KG.

What Is Acrylic Acid and Why Does It Matter?

Acrylic acid is one of those chemicals that most people have never heard of but encounter every single day. It is in the diaper that keeps a baby dry, the paint on a wall, the adhesive holding a label to a bottle, and the water treatment process that cleans a municipal water supply. Chemically it is prop-2-enoic acid (C3H4O2), a simple unsaturated carboxylic acid with a sharp, pungent smell and a structure that makes it exceptionally reactive and useful as a building block for a wide range of polymers and esters.

Almost all commercial acrylic acid is produced through the two-step catalytic oxidation of propylene. Propylene is first oxidised to acrolein, then acrolein is further oxidised to acrylic acid. That means acrylic acid prices are essentially derivative of propylene prices, and propylene prices in turn follow crude oil and naphtha markets in Europe and Asia, and natural gas liquids and propane in North America. The feedstock chain is not complicated, but it is long, and disruptions anywhere along it show up in acrylic acid costs within weeks (ICIS; ACC).

There are two principal grades in the market. Glacial acrylic acid (GAA) is the high-purity form used directly for superabsorbent polymer production, the largest single end-use globally. Crude acrylic acid (CAA) is further esterified into acrylates, primarily butyl acrylate and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, which feed the coatings, adhesives, and textile treatment industries. The distinction matters because GAA and CAA prices do not always move in lockstep, and the demand dynamics in SAP versus coatings markets can diverge meaningfully in any given year (ICIS; European Coatings Association).

That breadth of downstream application is why tracking acrylic acid price trends matters well beyond the chemical industry itself. When acrylic acid prices move, the cost signals travel downstream into consumer goods, construction materials, and water infrastructure within one to two quarters.

Which Sectors Are Driving Acrylic Acid Demand?

• Superabsorbent Polymers (SAP): The single largest end-use for glacial acrylic acid. SAP production for baby diapers, adult incontinence products, and feminine hygiene accounts for roughly half of global acrylic acid consumption. Demand in this segment is population-driven and relatively inelastic. Growing middle-class consumption in Asia and Africa keeps this segment on a steady upward trajectory (ICIS; ACC).
• Acrylic Esters and Coatings: Butyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate are the primary ester derivatives of crude acrylic acid. These feed into architectural and industrial coatings, adhesives, sealants, and paper treatment applications. Construction activity cycles have a direct read-through to demand in this segment (European Coatings Association; ICIS).
• Detergents and Water Treatment: Polyacrylic acid and acrylic-maleic copolymers are widely used as dispersants and scale inhibitors in detergents and industrial water treatment systems. Demand here is broadly correlated with industrial production levels and municipal infrastructure investment (ACC; US EPA).
• Textiles and Nonwovens: Acrylic-based binders are used in nonwoven fabric production for hygiene products and geotextiles. This segment overlaps with SAP demand in some regional markets and benefits from the same underlying population and consumption growth drivers (ICIS; Textile World).
• Personal Care and Cosmetics: Carbomers, which are cross-linked polyacrylic acid polymers, are a standard thickening and stabilising agent in gels, lotions, and sunscreens. While the volumes are smaller than SAP or coatings, personal care is a premium-priced segment where quality specifications are strict and buyer switching costs are high (Cosmetics Europe; ACC).

Global Acrylic Acid Price Trend in 2025

The overriding theme for global acrylic acid prices in 2025 was decline. Not a chaotic one, but a consistent, quarter-by-quarter softening that reflected the same underlying pressure playing out at different speeds across five distinct regional markets. Propylene feedstock costs eased in several key production regions through the second and third quarters. Chinese acrylic acid capacity continued to expand, adding supply to an Asian market that was already well-stocked. And downstream demand from the coatings and construction sectors did not deliver the volume growth that had been anticipated heading into the year.

The global averages below are calculated from the five regional markets covered in this report: Europe, North America, North East Asia, South East Asia, and South America. They give a useful overview of direction but should be read alongside the individual regional sections, where the local drivers behind each market's movement become considerably clearer.

The 7.3% Q3 drop at the global level was the sharpest single-quarter move of the year and reflected simultaneous corrections in North America, North East Asia, and South America. Europe and South East Asia also declined in Q3, though more moderately. Q4 brought a modest stabilisation, with the global average settling at USD 1.13/KG as year-end restocking by SAP and coatings producers provided some buying support. But the full-year direction, from USD 1.26/KG to USD 1.13/KG, leaves little room for ambiguity about where the market spent most of 2025.

European Acrylic Acid Price Trends in 2025

Europe's acrylic acid market operates under a cost structure that insulates it from global price softness more effectively than any other region. The primary feedstock is naphtha-derived propylene from steam crackers, and naphtha prices in Europe carry a structural premium over the propane and shale-based feedstocks used in North America. On top of that, the EU ETS carbon pricing mechanism adds a per-tonne production cost that European acrylic acid makers carry and Asian or American competitors do not. REACH compliance, waste handling regulations, and higher energy costs round out a cost stack that consistently keeps European prices above the global average regardless of broader market direction.

That structural floor showed clearly in 2025. Europe was the only region in this report where prices rose in Q2, climbing 7.1% to USD 1.35/KG as post-winter restocking by coatings, SAP, and personal care customers hit the market at the same time as a brief naphtha price uptick. The subsequent Q3 and Q4 corrections were real but limited, with a combined pullback of only 3.7% over two quarters. European buyers ended the year at USD 1.30/KG, still comfortably above every other market except North America.

Europe was the only region to end 2025 above its Q1 opening price. That single fact captures the structural reality of European acrylic acid procurement. The cost base has enough depth that even in a year of global price softness, European buyers do not see the corrections that comparable markets elsewhere experience. For procurement managers in Europe, this is not a temporary situation. It is the market they operate in, and planning for 2026 should assume the same structural premium persists.

North American Acrylic Acid Price Trends in 2025

North America started 2025 as the most expensive acrylic acid market in the world at USD 1.79/KG, and it ended the year down nearly 19% at USD 1.45/KG. That is the kind of correction that gets procurement teams and producers' attention. The primary driver was propylene. North American acrylic acid production increasingly relies on propylene from propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units fed by shale-based LPG, and propane prices on the Mont Belvieu benchmark eased meaningfully through Q2 and into Q3 2025. Lower feedstock costs translated into lower production economics, and spot prices followed.

Demand did not help either. Architectural coatings demand, one of the key downstream markets for North American acrylic esters, was softer than expected through H2 as housing construction activity slowed in response to sustained high mortgage rates. SAP demand held up reasonably well given its non-discretionary nature, but it was not enough to offset the coatings-side softness. The result was three consecutive quarters of price decline after Q1, with Q3 recording the steepest single drop of 10.4%.

The Q4 stabilisation at USD 1.45/KG suggested the market had found at least a temporary floor. Year-end restocking by coatings and adhesives producers, combined with propylene prices that had largely stopped falling, supported that stabilisation. North America still ended the year as the second most expensive market in this report, above Europe on an absolute USD/KG basis. That premium over Europe reflects the different production economics rather than superior supply fundamentals, and it is worth watching whether that gap narrows further in 2026 as PDH capacity additions continue to bring North American propylene costs down.

North East Asian Acrylic Acid Price Trends in 2025

North East Asia is where the global acrylic acid supply picture is being reshaped most dramatically, and 2025 was a clear illustration of why. China is both the world's largest consumer and the world's fastest-growing producer of acrylic acid. New acrylic acid and glacial acrylic acid capacity has been coming online in China at a pace that has consistently outrun demand growth, and the effect on regional spot prices is direct and fast. When Chinese producers have product to move, prices in North East Asia move down. When new plants start up mid-year, as happened in 2025, a quarter like Q3 happens.

Prices declined in every quarter of the year without exception. The Q3 drop of 11.0% was the single sharpest quarterly fall across all regions in the entire dataset. It reflected new Chinese capacity additions hitting the market precisely when seasonal demand from Japanese and South Korean SAP and coatings buyers was at its lowest point of the year. The combination of timing made it worse than it might otherwise have been, but the direction was already set by the underlying supply build.

USD 0.87/KG in Q4 is the cheapest acrylic acid price recorded across any region or any quarter in this report. For SAP producers and acrylate manufacturers in the region with the flexibility to spot-buy, that is a genuinely attractive level. For acrylic acid producers operating in North East Asia, the margin environment requires real discipline. The structural driver, Chinese capacity expansion outpacing demand growth - is not expected to change significantly in 2026, which means the pricing pressure at the low end of the regional range looks persistent rather than temporary.

South East Asian Acrylic Acid Price Trends in 2025

South East Asia's acrylic acid market followed a consistent and unhurried downward path through all four quarters of 2025. Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia are the primary consuming markets in the region, with demand concentrated in SAP production for hygiene products, coatings for construction, and adhesives for packaging and textiles. Most of the acrylic acid consumed in the region is imported, with Chinese exports accounting for a significant and growing share of supply. That import dependency makes South East Asian buyers beneficiaries of Chinese capacity expansion in a direct way, as lower Chinese domestic prices tend to flow into regional export pricing within a quarter.

The decline was gradual and consistent rather than dramatic. Each quarter brought a lower price, from USD 0.99/KG in Q1 to USD 0.90/KG by Q4, with the pace of decline accelerating slightly into Q3 and Q4. Freight costs on intra-Asian trade lanes eased somewhat through the second half of the year, which reduced the landed cost of Chinese acrylic acid imports and contributed to the steady softening of regional prices.

South East Asia closed the year as the second-cheapest market in the report at USD 0.90/KG, just above North East Asia. The accelerating pace of quarterly declines through Q3 and Q4, with each drop larger than the last, suggests the market had not fully found its floor by year-end. SAP demand in the region is structurally healthy given population growth and rising hygiene product consumption across Indonesia and Vietnam in particular, but supply from China has been growing faster than that demand can absorb. That balance is the central dynamic to watch for 2026.

South American Acrylic Acid Price Trends in 2025

South America's acrylic acid market had an unusually stable first half before a meaningful correction hit in Q3. Prices sat exactly flat through Q1 and Q2 at USD 1.22/KG, a pattern that points to a well-balanced supply and demand picture in the early months of the year. Brazil dominates regional acrylic acid consumption, with demand coming primarily from the paints and coatings industry, SAP production for the domestic hygiene sector, and water treatment chemicals for municipal and industrial use. Import logistics from Asia and Europe mean that South American buyers tend to see global price movements with a slight delay.

The Q3 correction of 9.8% broke the H1 stability sharply. Brazilian construction and paints sector activity softened mid-year, reducing pull-through demand for acrylates and acrylic acid. At the same time, lower-priced Chinese acrylic acid became more accessible on South American trade lanes as Chinese producers looked for export outlets to absorb domestic oversupply. The combination of weaker local demand and more competitive import pricing pushed acrylic acid costs down faster than regional buyers had anticipated.

The Q4 recovery of 1.8% to USD 1.12/KG was modest but meaningful. Year-end procurement activity from coatings and detergent producers, combined with some recovery in Brazilian construction sentiment as the domestic interest rate cycle began to turn, brought enough buying to stabilise prices. South America sits in a mid-tier cost position globally, above the Asian markets but below Europe, a positioning that reflects its import dependency, regional currency dynamics, and the relatively undeveloped local acrylic acid production base.

What Factors Drove Acrylic Acid Costs in 2025?

• Propylene feedstock prices: Acrylic acid is made from propylene, and propylene price movements are the single most reliable short-term predictor of acrylic acid cost direction. In North America, propylene comes increasingly from PDH units fed by shale-based propane, and easing LPG prices in H2 2025 drove that region's sharp correction. In Europe and Asia, naphtha-derived propylene carries a higher and more stable cost base, which explains why those regions corrected less aggressively (ICIS; US EIA; European Commission).
• Chinese acrylic acid capacity expansion: China has been the dominant story on the global supply side for several years, and 2025 was no different. New acrylic acid and glacial acrylic acid plants coming online in China added supply faster than Asian and export market demand could absorb it. The knock-on effect was falling North East Asian spot prices through every quarter of the year and competitive Chinese export pricing that put pressure on South East Asian and South American import markets (USGS; China Customs GACC; ICIS).
• EU carbon pricing and European production costs: The EU ETS carbon pricing mechanism applied a production cost in 2025 that European acrylic acid producers cannot pass off to competitors. Combined with naphtha feedstock costs that stayed above those in North America, ECHA REACH compliance obligations, and energy costs that remained elevated relative to pre-2022 norms, European acrylic acid production carried a structurally higher cost base than any other region. This is the primary explanation for Europe being the only market to end 2025 above its starting price (Eurostat; European Commission; ECHA).
• Downstream demand from coatings and construction: Architectural and industrial coatings are among the largest buyers of acrylic esters derived from acrylic acid, and coatings demand tracks construction activity closely. A slowdown in housing construction in North America and softer infrastructure project pipelines in South America and parts of Asia through H2 2025 reduced acrylate pull-through and contributed to the second-half price declines across multiple regions (American Coatings Association; World Steel Association; IEA).
• Superabsorbent polymer demand and hygiene sector growth: SAP demand for diapers and hygiene products provided a relatively stable floor under glacial acrylic acid consumption throughout 2025. SAP buyers are not discretionary purchasers, and the population growth and rising hygiene product penetration in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa kept demand from falling even when other end-use segments softened. This demand stability prevented a more severe price correction in GAA-specific markets (ICIS; ACC; WHO).
• Logistics and import costs for trade-dependent markets: South America and South East Asia are primarily import-dependent for acrylic acid, which means freight costs and shipping lane conditions directly affect landed prices. Easing intra-Asian freight rates in H2 2025 made Chinese acrylic acid more price-competitive on South East Asian and South American import lanes and contributed to the regional price declines in those markets through Q3 and Q4 (IMO; Drewry Shipping Consultants).

Acrylic Acid Market Forecast for 2026

The 2026 acrylic acid market forecast does not point to a dramatic reversal of 2025 trends. The structural forces that drove prices lower across most regions last year are mostly still in place. Chinese capacity is not contracting. North American PDH economics remain relatively favourable. European feedstock and compliance costs are not going to fall sharply. The regional price hierarchy that settled through 2025 is the most likely starting point for 2026.

On the demand side, the most supportive argument for 2026 comes from SAP. Population-driven hygiene product consumption in South East Asia and Africa is a genuine structural growth driver for glacial acrylic acid demand, and that growth does not switch off in response to economic cycles the way coatings or construction demand can. Brazilian paints and coatings demand is another one to watch, as the domestic interest rate environment was beginning to improve by late 2025 and a housing and construction recovery could bring meaningful acrylic acid demand growth through H2 2026.

The main downside risk for the year is a continuation of Chinese capacity additions outpacing demand growth in North East and South East Asian markets. If that dynamic persists at the same pace as 2025, North East Asian prices could push below USD 0.87/KG, which would have ripple effects on South East Asian and South American import pricing within a quarter or two.

Expected Acrylic Acid Price Range (2026):

North America and North East Asia carry the widest forecast ranges, reflecting the genuine uncertainty around propylene feedstock direction in North America and Chinese supply additions in North East Asia. Procurement teams budgeting for 2026 in those two regions should build in more contingency than they would for Europe or South East Asia, where the price path is more structurally anchored.

Key Analyst Insights for the Acrylic Acid Market

The most striking feature of global acrylic acid prices in 2025 was the divergence between Europe, which ended the year above where it started, and every other region, which finished lower. That split is a clean illustration of how structural cost factors, feedstock type, carbon pricing, regulatory overhead, can override commodity market direction entirely. Here is what we are watching as 2026 develops:

• Chinese acrylic acid capacity additions are the dominant medium-term supply variable for the global market. New GAA and CAA plants in China add supply that flows through to North East Asian spot prices first, then into South East Asian and South American import markets within a quarter. Buyers in import-dependent markets who do not track Chinese capacity announcements are always going to be reactive.
• North America's Q1 2025 price of USD 1.79/KG now looks like a high-water mark that reflected H1 propylene tightness more than structural demand strength. The correction to USD 1.45/KG was driven by feedstock economics, and the direction of US LPG and propylene prices through H1 2026 will largely determine whether North American acrylic acid stabilises or continues to drift lower.
• Europe's structural premium over the rest of the world widened in 2025, not narrowed. EU ETS carbon costs, naphtha-based feedstock pricing, and REACH compliance are not going to ease materially in 2026. European procurement managers should plan for prices to remain firmly above the global average for the foreseeable future.
• North East Asia at USD 0.87/KG in Q4 is the most attractive spot price for industrial acrylic acid buyers globally. SAP producers and acrylate manufacturers in the region who can tolerate spot market exposure are in a genuinely favourable procurement position. For producers, that same price level is a margin challenge that demands efficient operations.
• South America's acrylic acid demand growth story is underappreciated. Brazil's paints, coatings, and SAP industries are all expanding, and the local production base is limited. That combination means import volumes will need to grow, and suppliers with established trade lanes and reliable logistics into South American markets are well-positioned for that growth.
• The SAP segment continues to be the most demand-stable end-use for glacial acrylic acid. While coatings and construction demand swings with economic cycles, SAP demand for hygiene products tracks population and income growth. Producers and distributors with a strong GAA franchise are more insulated from cyclical demand softness than those concentrated in the acrylates and coatings supply chain.

Key Takeaways for Buyers and Manufacturers

For Buyers

• Track propylene prices and Chinese acrylic acid plant announcements. These two variables explain the majority of short-term acrylic acid price direction in Asian and American markets. Procurement teams that monitor upstream propylene benchmarks, Henry Hub and Mont Belvieu for North America, naphtha and propylene contract prices for Europe, can anticipate acrylic acid moves before they show up in supplier quotes.
• North American buyers who contracted at early 2025 prices paid a meaningful premium over spot by Q4. In a market that dropped 18.9% through the year, the timing and structure of supply contracts had a very direct financial consequence. The lesson is that building flexibility into procurement agreements, indexed pricing, shorter review windows, matters more in volatile feedstock environments.
• European buyers face the most predictable but also most expensive cost environment. Naphtha propylene, EU ETS carbon costs, and REACH compliance are not going to shift favourably in the near term. Optimising within that cost structure, through specification management, supplier diversification, and efficiency in downstream formulations, is a more productive focus than waiting for European prices to fall to global levels.
• South East Asian and North East Asian buyers are sitting at the most attractive price points in the global market. This is a reasonable window to evaluate longer-term supply agreements or volume commitments before any supply-side tightening or demand recovery shifts the balance.

For Manufacturers

• European producers need to treat EU ETS cost management as a competitive priority rather than a compliance obligation. Producers who reduce their carbon intensity per tonne of acrylic acid are building a cost advantage over regional peers that will compound as ETS prices trend upward through the decade.
• Chinese acrylic acid producers face a market of their own making. Capacity additions that outpace demand growth create the kind of sustained low-price environment that squeezes margins industry-wide. Producers with access to lower-cost propylene, or with downstream integration into SAP or specialty acrylates, are better positioned to manage through this cycle.
• Downstream integration into glacial acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers offers better margin stability than commodity CAA. SAP demand is non-discretionary and growing. Producers who have already moved down the value chain into GAA and SAP are less exposed to the spot price volatility that hit CAA markets in 2025.
• South America is an underserved import market with growing acrylic acid demand. Suppliers who invest in reliable logistics, technical support, and local relationships in Brazil and Argentina ahead of the demand curve will have a meaningful advantage over those entering later. First-mover positioning in emerging import markets has historically delivered durable pricing power.